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Prominent investor publicly criticizes Biden, fundraises for Trump, Silicon Valley political trend changes
Changing stance: from not supporting Trump to fundraising support
Shift in Silicon Valley’s political trend
Democratic Party still has many venture capital bigwigs
Startup industry policies trigger a chemical change
Tech backlash and political reassessment
Discontent with tax proposals and cryptocurrency policies
Supporting technologically-driven future politicians
ETH ETF, FIT 21 bill pass quickly
Silicon Valley’s venture capital community is undergoing a political earthquake. Prominent tech investors such as Marc Andreessen and Chamath Palihapitiya are increasingly publicly criticizing President Biden and expressing support for Trump.
The New York Times reported on this series of political shifts:
In 2021, prominent venture capitalist and host David Sacks stated that former President Trump had lost his qualification to become a future political candidate due to the January 6th Capitol riot.
However, at a tech conference last week, Sacks changed his stance, claiming that his differences with Biden are greater than with Trump. Mr. Sacks also revealed that he and his podcast co-host are organizing a fundraising event for Trump and have extended an invitation to Biden, but the Trump campaign is more open to it.
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The shift in Silicon Valley’s political trend is particularly noteworthy because Silicon Valley has long had close ties to the Democratic Party. Open support for Trump in Silicon Valley, which has been regarded as a liberal stronghold, was once taboo.
However, dissatisfaction with Biden and the Democratic Party is driving some of the most prominent tech venture capitalists towards the right. For example, Chamath Palihapitiya of Social Capital, who previously supported the Democratic Party, is now organizing fundraising events for Trump together with Sacks.
Marc Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Shaun Maguire of Sequoia Capital criticize Biden, but have not explicitly expressed support for Trump. Keith Rabois of Khosla Ventures focuses on promoting Republicans entering Congress. These activities only represent a portion of people, but their impact cannot be ignored.
In the past, Republican donors in Silicon Valley were limited to a few high-ranking tech executives, such as Scott McNealy, the founder of Sun Microsystems, Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay, Carly Fiorina, former CEO of HP, Larry Ellison, executive director of Oracle, and Doug Leone, former managing partner of Sequoia Capital. Tech companies like Airbnb, Google, Uber, and Apple have been enthusiastic about hiring former members of the Obama administration.
Many Silicon Valley investors, including Reid Hoffman and Vinod Khosla, remain loyal to the Democratic Party, while Peter Thiel, who previously supported Trump (co-founder of PayPal), has expressed disappointment in politics and plans to withdraw from the 2024 election campaign.
However, these tech investors who have shifted towards the right have a large following on social media and abundant funds, making them increasingly politicized.
According to data from PitchBook, which tracks startups, the startup industry has grown eightfold from 2012 to 2022, reaching $344 billion, and more industry issues have become politicized. Bobby Franklin of the National Venture Capital Association said that current issues are more complex than ever before.
In 2016, Peter Thiel’s high-profile support for Trump, including a $1.25 million donation and a speech at the Republican National Convention, shocked the entire industry. The subsequent “tech backlash” led some industry leaders to reevaluate their political views, a trend that continues to ferment during times of social and political turmoil, such as the pandemic.
Some investors express disappointment with Lina Khan, the chair of the Federal Trade Commission nominated by Biden, and dissatisfaction with Gary Gensler, the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, over his hostile attitude towards cryptocurrency companies.
Since 2022, startups have been in a slump due to rising interest rates and a sluggish IPO market. Sacks believes that Biden’s proposed tax proposals, including a 25% billionaire tax on certain holdings, could stifle the development of startups. He said at the tech conference last week, “This is a good reason for Silicon Valley to seriously consider their voting choices.”
Marc Andreessen, one of the founders of Andreessen Horowitz, pointed out in a recent podcast, “The Biden administration has real problems.” He believes that under Trump’s administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would be led by “very different people,” but Trump’s presidency was not necessarily a “clean victory.”
Representatives of the National Venture Capital Association stated that Silicon Valley’s dissatisfaction with the current situation reflects the general disappointment with both parties nationwide.
Andreessen Horowitz’s reference to “e/acc” (optimistically viewing a technology-driven future) last year may best express the sentiment of these tech investors. In November last year, a group of prominent investors and startup founders jointly wrote a letter to Biden, criticizing his executive orders targeting artificial intelligence and accusing him of stifling innovation.
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What is Vitalik’s “d/acc”? How is it different from “e/acc” (effective accelerationism)?
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Perhaps due to pressure felt by the Biden administration, unlike the long-anticipated Bitcoin spot ETF, the Ethereum spot ETF was approved by the SEC without public improvement opinions. In addition, the FIT 21 bill, strongly supported by the US cryptocurrency industry, which limits the scope of regulation by the SEC and defines decentralized networks, quickly passed the House of Representatives vote and will move on to the Senate for consideration.
This industry-friendly extension stemming from the election will greatly change the industrial development of the United States and the world.
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Trump
Biden
Democratic Party
Silicon Valley
Further reading
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